III.
Tiberius atque Augusta publico abstinuere, inferius maiestate sua rati si palam lamentarentur, an ne omnium oculis vultum eorum scrutantibus falsi intellegerentur. (inferius maiestate sua rati si palam lamentarentur, an ne omnium oculis vultum eorum scrutantibus falsi intellegerentur: here the particle an is not interrogative, but disjunctive, like aut or vel, the difference being that an is emphatic and indicates that the writer inclines to the second option, with the corrective sense of ‘or rather’ , ‘or on the contrary’ (L. 1675 and Lewis and Short, Latin dictionary ): ‘deeming that is was beneath their majesty if they mourned in public, or rather lest they were judged false in everyone’ eyes scrutinizing their (eorum) faces’; si …lamentarentur: subjunctive in indir. speech after rati; the condition is logical (type I), therefore with indicative in direct discourse.) matrem Antoniam (matrem Antoniam: she was the daughter of Marc Antony and Octavia, the sister of Augustus; wife of Drusus, the brother of Tiberius, she died in the reign of Caligula.) non apud auctores rerum, non diurna actorum scriptura (apud auctores rerum, …diurna actorum scriptura: auctores rerum are ‘historians’ and diurnal actorum scriptura (‘Daily record of events’) was an official gazette started in Caesar’s time.) reperio ullo insigni officio functam, (ullo insigni officio functam: fungor, with utor, fruor, potior, and vescor commands the abl.: ‘that she had performed no special function’) cum super Agrippinam et Drusum et Claudium ceteri quoque consanguinei nominatim perscripti sint, (cum .. perscripti sint: concessive cum takes the subjunctive: ‘although others were mentioned’) seu valetudine praepediebatur seu victus luctu animus magnitudinem mali perferre visu non toleravit. (seu valetudine praepediebatur seu victus luctu animus magnitudinem mali perferre visu non toleravit: ‘either she was prevented by illness or, her spirit being crushed by her distress, she did not have the force to witness with her eyes the extent of her loss.’) facilius crediderim Tiberio et Augusta, qui domo non excedebant, cohibitam, (facilius crediderim Tiberio et Augusta, qui domo non excedebant, cohibitam [esse]: ‘I would sooner believe that she was forced to remain indoors by Tiberius and Augusta, who did not leave the palace.’ crediderim is use of potential subjunctive in the first person singular of verbs of saying, believing, and wishing, to make modest, cautious, non-binding statements; the perfect is found just as often as the present. Cf. A.G. 447, 1. crediderim introduces indir. speech, but the rel. clause qui domo non excedebant retains the indicative since the clause is explanatory. Cf. A.G. 583 and Note.) ut par maeror et matris exemplo avia quoque et patruus attineri viderentur. (ut par maeror et matris exemplo avia quoque et patruus attineri viderentur: ‘in order that their affliction might appear equal [to hers], and that the grandmother and the uncle were held back (attineri) by the example of the mother’)